Category Archives: Local News

We had a most enjoyable performance of Carols and Music in St Brendan’s today. Students from 2nd to 6th Class opened the show with an energetic performance of The Greatest Showman medley which they will perform on Saturday 9th February in the Peace Prom 2019. Then students from 2nd to 4th played Hot Cross Fun on the recorder, directed by Sophie their music teacher. Fifth and Sixth played a piece called Jolly St Nick to celebrate the season. Students from Jnr & Snr infants and First Class also sang a seasonal song Jack Frost. Finally, all the classes sang Christmas Carols together, finishing up with Mary had a Baby and Jingle Bells.

The Gaelic football season for 2018 came to an end with the girls’ in the final of the Mini-7’s, a fantastic achievement. They played Dunamaggan, Canice’s and Piltown and did themselves proud. They also reached the semi-final of the championship where they put in a great effort right up to the end but were defeated by the eventual winners, Windgap.

The boys’ had a very competitive season also. They got to the semi-final of the Country Cup where they put up a valiant display and battled to the end, but a very strong Clara team prevailed.

Many thanks to the teachers who gave so much of their time to training and matches and to parents for all the driving.

The year the theme for the Credit Union Art Competition was The Force of Nature. Congratulations to our prize-winning students from 2nd, 4th and 6th classes. Well done and keep sketching! The sporty students at St Brendan’s have been busy too and both boys and girls deserve great praise for their participation in football this season. Finally, we would like to commend the debating team, their researchers, those who helped with the surveys, time-keeping, and chairpersons for all their work. 5th and 6th Class Students have now completed their Scríobh Leabhar project, which has been delivered to Kilkenny Education Centre. Our books will be swapped with students from the same class level, and we will get books from another class to read in January 2019.

On Thursday 6th December 2018, all classes from First to Sixth visited Kilkenny Garda Station. First of all, we walked up to a camera one by one, and looked up at it and said our full name aloud. Then 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Classes went outside to the backyard. There were lots of vans and garda cars. In one of the vans, there was a cell for transporting criminals. We got to go inside it. We returned inside the station and found out how a breathalyser works. Gardaí use these to find out if people have drunk too much alcohol. I got to put on a garda vest. This protects a garda because it is bulletproof and stab proof. Lots of my friends got to put on the handcuffs. Some tried on the garda hat. At the end of our visit, we went to the conference room. We got a booklet and a road-safety vest to bring back to school. It was very interesting. The best news is that Ellie asked about the Garda horses and they promised to put our school on the list for a visit.

This year for Science week 2018, we borrowed Bee-Bots and We-Do Lego kits from Kilkenny Education Centre. You can build lego objects and programme them to move, tilt or rotate depending on the smart hub and sensors that you use. You then programme them using We-Do Lego 2.0 app on the Ipad.

Check out our work in the slides above. We worked in pairs or some groups of three. Matthew and Oisín put an object detector arm on Milo the science rover, thus enabling him to stop at a plant specimen.

Donnacha and Ellie built a moving satellite which rotates 360 degrees. Satellites need to move to avoid meteors. Seán and Marie-Therese also built this project.

John and Tessa made a cooling fan. They programmed the motor to turn at different speeds. Serena and Aoife made a cooling fan also but activated different sounds as it rotated.

The Bee-Bots were brought to 1st, 2nd and 3rd once fourth and fifth class had explored them and worked out a challenge for the junior classes. The challenge was to get the Bee-Bot to travel on digital numbers from start to finish never moving off the line and turning at the correct times. It was great fun but sadly the equipment will be returned soon.

On Thursday 22nd November 2018, 1st to 6th Classes went to Kilkenny Castle. My favourite room was the library. I thought the portrait of Charles I and his family was very interesting. Charles I, James I and their two sisters are in the painting. At first I thought that James I was a girl, but then I found out that it was usual to dress little boys in dresses up to age nine. This was done to protect King’s sons and heirs. They feared that the heir to the throne would be kidnapped and held for ransom.

By Mary-Kate (4th Class)

“Hello, my name is Mary and I am a servant for the mighty Butler family. They are very powerful and rich so I will be careful not to utter complaints about them. One of my duties is to clean the circular room in the tower. It is always dark so I bring a candle while I polish the swords and shields. I often shiver as I look outside through the arrow slits. The castle walls are very thick to protect us from the enemy. I hope there will never be a battle here again. The last one was horrendous when Oliver Cromwell and his army blew down the fourth wall of the castle. “

By Ellie (4th Class)

The bedroom had a very short bed in it. The guide explained that the castle was so big, dusty and cold that the people often got chest infections. Therefore they slept slightly sitting up. That bed didn’t look comfy at all. In the morning the lady would get up and put on her dressing gown, and go to her little library to write all her letters. She did not want to spill ink on her best clothes so she dressed up afterwards. Her gowns would have been magnificent and imported from London and Paris.

By Olivia (4th Class)

In the entrance hall, we saw a large black marble table. Here the butler family members were waked. The guide told us if you touch it, you will be cursed. Happily you can get rid of the curse, by hopping on one leg around the rectangular lawn, in front of the entrance door. You must hop around it three times and touch the stones on each corner as you go. I DID IT!

By Kate (4th Class)

We went to the Dining room. The old table and chairs and the silver candelabra with red candles were amazing. There was fake (plastic) fruit in the fruit bowl. You couldn’t have real food as it would attract mice and insects into the castle. I don’t believe in the curse but I took part in the hopping around the lawn for the fun of it.

By Keelin (4th Class)

We began our tour in a circular room in the lower tower. The windows here are arrow slits where an archer could shoot out arrows easily at the enemy. The attacking enemy would find it difficult to shoot arrows back into the castle through the arrow slits. The walls are very thick to support the great weight of the castle and for protection. On the ceiling, was a basket weave of sticks, mud, animal blood and animal skin.